


Yours

by Micole_H



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:33:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26407300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Micole_H/pseuds/Micole_H
Summary: Skye Simmons is all set to start her new career and join her boyfriend in Florida. Until she finds out her boyfriend is in a feud with her soulmate. But does she even believe in soulmates? And will she choose to stay with what’s familiar and safe or take a chance?
Relationships: Dominik Dijakovic x OFC
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find this story on my tumblr: https://wrestlingismyguiltypleasure.tumblr.com/post/619288159730237440/yours-masterlist

_ “You know he never planned on coming, why do you keep trying” _

Dominik shook his head to clear the voice. He must have hit that turnbuckle harder than he thought. He tried to focus on what the Gargano’s were doing but the tingling on his hand was distracting him too. He had been successful most of the match until Candice had gotten involved and Johnny had managed to get the turnbuckle pad off. 

He struggled to his feet and was immediately hit with a slingshot DDT. Before he realized what was happening, Johnny’s music was playing and the ref was checking on him. He rolled out of the ring and seethed on the side while the Garganos celebrated. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye sighed in frustration.  _ “You know he never planned on coming, why do you keep trying”.  _ Taking a deep breath and shaking the thought from her head she looked back at him. “Damian, I told you a month ago that this was my first big event and you promised you would be there. You already missed my graduation.” 

“Are you trying to say that your career is more important than mine?” he eyed her. 

“You know I’m not, I have supported your career since you were performing in VFW halls.” Skye scoffed.

“Look babe, I can’t tell them I won’t be available on certain dates, not when i’m being pushed and getting a chance at a title.” Damian ran his hands up and down her crossed arms. 

“That’s what you said about the Monster Factory title and the Ring of Honor title.” she pointed out and pushed his hands off her. “Look, I can name your titles. Can you even name my degree?”

“Animal Health?” Damian asked, realizing he was wrong by the look on her face. 

“Marine Biologist! Are you kidding me! I can’t do this right now. I’ll see you at home.” Skye turned to leave but Damian grabbed her hand.

“I have a match coming up, you have to stay.” Damian stated.

“No, Damian, I don’t.” Skye pulled her hand away from him. Before he could reply he was pulled away for a quick interview and Skye grabbed her bag and headed for the exit, rubbing her hand that was tingling directly over the faint design on her skin.

Turning the corner and finding an empty hallway she stopped and leaned back against the wall, letting her bag fall off her shoulder to the floor.. She could vaguely hear Damian's new entrance music. “What am I even doing?” She said out loud to herself.  _ “Talking to yourself in public, that’s what”  _ she thought with a huff. 

She had moved to Florida partly to be with Damian but also because she had accepted a position at a Wildlife Refuge near the east coast, half an hour from where Damian had moved a year ago. The plan had always been to join him when she graduated with the assumption, at least on her end, that they would move forward with their relationship. She had moved down a month ago and while she was loving her new job, she wasn’t loving  _ Damian _ . At least  _ Punishment  _ had cared about her career and not just his own. He was all she had here though and he was under a lot of stress. Grumbling to herself about being an idiot, she reached down to grab her bag and head home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ “Talking to yourself in public, that’s what”  _

Dominik stopped walking abruptly as the voice echoed in his head again. Maybe he should get that checked out, that wasn’t his usual inner thought monologue. He’d hit his head, and hand apparently, on the exposed turnbuckle he reminded himself. A thought nagged at the back of his mind but he dismissed it. He ran his left hand over the faint design on the back of his right hand below his thumb. He didn’t need to look at it to know the design by heart. Waves inside the outline of an eye surrounded by lashes. His soulmate mark, unique to him and one other person on the planet. He believed wholeheartedly in the idea despite many people chalking it up as a fairytale. 

Sighing, he continued towards the little locker room he’d picked in a quiet hallway. He didn’t notice the woman leaning over to grab her bag as he rounded the corner until he had collided with her and sent her and her bag to the floor. 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you down there!” he exclaimed as he reached down to grab her arm and help her to her feet. He was distracted from apologizing further and checking if she was ok by a searing pain in his hand. He grunted as he looked down to see the design turning darker, a whimper made him look up to find the woman staring at her hand with a look of pain etched across her features. He sucked in a breath and laughed when he saw the design on the back of her hand below her thumb.

“Great, I finally meet my soulmate and I knock her to the floor. I’m Dominik.” he extended his hand and the woman looked at him in shock. 

“Skye” she whispered, “Your soulmate?” her mouth opened like she was going to say more but nothing came out but he heard her thoughts clearly. 

_ “What the fuck! Soulmates aren’t real!” _

“They are definitely real.” He answered out loud causing her to blush.

“I..I’m sorry, I…” she was cut off abruptly by Damian’s voice calling her name.

“What are you doing with my girl?” Damian stepped between the two glaring at Dominik. 

“Your girl? Hmmm.” Dominik chuckled, “I was talking to a pretty young woman. What are you going to do about it? Want me to turn around so you can hit me in the back again?” 

“Maybe you should watch your back and keep your eyes off my girl. Let’s go Skye.” Damian put his arm around Skye and propelled her around the corner. 

Dominik watched her go grinning when she turned big blue eyes back to look at him with a small smile before disappearing from his view. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Did you get a tattoo and not tell me?” Damian noticed the darkened image on her hand as soon as they were settled in the car and she was buckling her seatbelt. 

Skye paused and looked at him for a second before answering. They had been together all these years and he had never noticed the mark on her hand? Ya, it had been light but surely he had seen it hadn't he? Did he have a soulmate mark that she had never seen? He was covered in tattoos so it was possible. She didn’t know much about the whole process, just bits and pieces her grandma had mentioned before her mom, or especially her dad, had reminded her it was a made up fairytale. Anyone could draw a matching image on anyone and claim they were soulmates. Skye certainly had never put a lot of stock in it, preferring to think the design on her hand was just an intricate birthmark. But Dominik had seemed so sure and sincere. He had the same design and his had darkened when they had touched. And had he read her mind? 

“Earth to Skye?” Damien was still staring at her and gestured to her hand. 

“Oh, ya a little thing I’ve been playing around with.” she brushed it off. She wasn’t ready to tell him that the man he had been feuding with for weeks may be her actual soulmate.

“I thought you were leaving earlier, did you see any of my match?” Damian let it go in favor of bringing up their argument. 

“No, I didn’t. I was leaving when I ran into Dominik.” Skye said softly, turning to look out the window as they headed back to his...their...apartment. As had been their routine lately, he turned up the music and stared straight ahead as he drove. Normally his inattentiveness would frustrate her but tonight her head was swimming with information and she welcomed the opportunity to think. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Across town, Dominik was getting in his SUV and synnching his phone to the car radio. After it was connected he pulled up his parents number and hit the call button. His mind raced as he started the drive home and the ringing echoed through the speakers. 

“Hello Son” his mom’s voice answered the call cherrily. 

“Darn shame about that purple haired gal interrupting your match.” He could hear his father saying as well. 

“Is your head ok?” his mom added, causing him to grin. 

“I’m fine, I have big news though.” Dominik brushed off his match in favor of telling them about Skye. 

“Getting another shot at the title?” his dad asked excitedly. 

“No, not yet but…” he paused as he prepared to say it, smiling to himself. “I found her.” 

“Her who?” His dad asked but was quickly drowned out by his mother’s excited voice. 

“Your soulmate! Dominik, don’t tease us!” his mother scolded him and he laughed out loud. 

“I’m not, I found her tonight. Same mark on her hand, burned like a bitch for a minute and turned black as soon as we touched, just like you said.” Dominik could almost feel their excitement through the phone. 

“Dominik that’s great! What’s she like? When do we get to meet her?” His mom gushed. 

“Well it’s not that simple. She seemed confused and she’s dating one of the other wrestlers. The guy I was just feuding with.” He sighed. 

“The one with long hair and tattoos? He’s dating your girl?” His dad scoffed. 

“Ya, they were having a fight tonight, I could hear some of her thoughts.” Dominik admitted, thinking back to how upset the voice had sounded.

“That’s a good start. You have a connection.” His mom pointed out. 

“I know.” Dominik agreed. They spoke a little more, his parents providing advice and encouragement, before they said their good nights as he pulled into the driveway of his little house. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye stared at her phone as she sat on the front steps of the apartment she shared with Damian. Originally she had planned on calling her parents but she found her finger hovering over her grandma’s number instead. Her parents weren’t soulmates, she knew that for sure. They had rarely spoken of the occurrence and always hushed her grandma when she would bring it up. Hitting the call button she held it to her ear and waited. 

“Hello.” Her grandma’s voice came over the line and Skye let out the breath she was holding. 

“Hi Grandma.” Skye answered. 

“Skye! I was thinking about you today!” her grandma said and Skye could picture the mischievous twinkle in her eye. Skye had always wondered about her grandma’s ability to  _ anticipate _ events. The family joked that she was a psychic and her grandma would always laugh but something about her smile and the look in her eye had always made Skye wonder how much her grandma really saw. 

“I need your advice.” Skye admitted softly. 

“You found him or he found you.” Grandma replied. It wasn’t a question and Skye sucked in a breath. 

“A man, one of Damian’s coworkers, bumped into me in the hallway and then helped me back up. And then the birthmark on my hand burned and turned black.” Skye was whispering but she wasn’t sure why. 

“Your soulmate mark was triggered. That’s great news! Was he handsome? Did he at least have less tattoos than Damian?” Grandma’s voice was heavy sarcasm on the last part. Skye’s mom liked Damian well enough and her dad loved him, but her grandma had always been wary around him, not unfriendly but not welcoming. 

“I didn’t get to talk to him much, I don’t know what to do. I was going to call mom and dad but…” Skye trailed off.

“Bah! Your parents and their ridiculous ideas. I told them that you needed to know! That you had a soulmate mark! But your father would have none of it and after your mother’s soulmate…” she cut herself off abruptly. 

“My mother’s soulmate? What? I never knew she had a soulmate! Why is she with dad!” Skye demanded. “You already said it, you can’t hold out on me now.”

“Well they won’t tell you and you need to know, so it’s up to me. All the women in our family have the soulmate mark. Your mother met her soulmate when she was in college on a trip to Scotland. They were doing research on the Island of Skye when they met.” she stopped at Skye’s sharp intake of breath. “Yes child, that’s why she named you Skye. Fought your father tooth and nail to do it, even though he has no idea why she wanted it so much.” 

“What happened to him?” Skye whispered.

“He passed away, boating accident. They had only known each other a few months. Your mom was devastated. After that she gave up on the idea, convinced herself it hadn’t been real and somehow decided her best choice for a husband was your father.” her grandma finished with a sigh. 

“I had no idea.” Skye replied, somewhat shocked. 

“Enough about them Skye, this is about you, you have a soulmate and you’ve found him.” her grandma responded with some excitement. 

“But I have Damian and the life we are starting here.” Skye objected.

“Do you?” Grandma asked. Skye opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. Damian hadn’t been the same since signing with WWE and she had her suspicions that he hadn’t been faithful when he moved down here while she was finishing up at school. Their fight earlier replayed in her head. “Think about it Skye, and call me if you have questions, this old lady needs to get to bed, I was just waiting up for you to call.” With that her grandma bid her goodnight and hung up the phone. 

Skye stood up and made her way back inside, she could hear Damian snoring from the bedroom as she changed and brushed her teeth. Her grandma’s words and the smile on Dominik’s face replaying in her head as she drifted off to sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

“Good girl Luna” Skye cooed at the sea lion laying calmly on her table. She had been brought in the same day Skye started and was her first rehabilitation assignment. Luna had gotten too curious and gotten one of her front flippers caught in a fishing net. The fisherman had called their team and she had been brought in the same day. Her injuries weren’t too extensive, requiring some stitches and monitoring for infection but she would be able to be released soon. They had hit it off immediately, Luna was shy around all the workers except Skye and seemed to know when Skye was coming to check on her wounds. 

“She’s healing really well Skye, you’ve done a great job with her.” Maria, her boss, told her as they looked over Luna’s scans. 

“Thank you, I’ve really enjoyed her.” Skye beamed. It was nice to be at work where she could lose herself in her assignments and not think about the problems her and Damian were having or her alleged soulmate who seemed to pop into her thoughts at random times. Maria waved as she answered a call and left the room. “Ready to go for a swim?” Skye asked Luna, rubbing her belly as she and an intern loaded her into a transport to the shallow pool where she could see if more work would need to be done to get the flipper used to swimming again. 

“There’s a guy here for you.” Skye’s intern, Brett, popped his head through the door as she was preparing to return Luna to her enclosure after their swim.

“A guy?” Skye questioned, Damian never visited her at work.  _ He probably doesn’t even know where you work.  _ Passed through her thoughts but she shook it away.

“Tall, buzz cut, wearing a shirt with the same logo as your boyfriend, but filling it out much better.” Brett winked at her causing Skye to roll her eyes. She bit her lip then as she realized Brett was describing Dominik. 

“Ummmm...he can come in, I guess.” Skye said, causing Brett to raise his eyebrow but turn and head back toward the office. “What is he doing here Luna? How did he even know I was here.” Skye murmured to Luna as she finished checking the stitches. 

“I asked around backstage until I could figure out how to track you down.” the deep voice startled her as she turned to find Dominik standing near the door. “That came out a lot creepier than it was meant to.” he added with a smile. 

“You were trying to find out more about me?” Skye was surprised and it showed on her face. 

“Of course.” Dominik shrugged, “Not like I could just ask Damian. He probably doesn’t even know where you work.” he quoted the thought she had had moments earlier. 

Before she could form an answer, Luna barked from beside her looking intently at Dominik whose eyes widened when he saw the sea lion. 

“This is Luna, she’s my current assignment.” Skye laughed. “We just got done with our swim, so she’s expecting lunch now.”

“She’s beautiful. That explains your outfit.” Dominik pointed out causing Skye to remember she was only wearing a pair of blue bikini bottoms and a zip up red top.

“Oh..ya...sorry.” Skye blushed, “she banged up her flipper a couple weeks ago and we are rehabilitating her to be released. I should get her in her enclosure.” 

“Do you wanna, like–I mean, if you’re not busy.. We could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don’t have a lot of time?” Dominik stuttered out and then grimaced.  _ Smooth dude smooth. _

Skye gasped as she heard the male voice pass through her head.

“Did you hear me?” Dominik asked, looking excited. 

“I...ummm.” She wanted to tell him that no she hadn’t heard the voice and no she didn’t want to have lunch with him but the words wouldn’t come. 

“You can’t lie can you? You can’t lie to your soulmate.” Dominik smiled at her. 

“No, I can’t. I shouldn’t want to go to lunch with you but I do. I’m….curious.” Skye replied. “I don’t have another outfit with me today besides a pair of shorts.” she motioned to her swimsuit.

“I think I know of a place.” Dominik replied. 

“Ok, well I just need to get Luna fed and grab my purse.” Skye smiled. “Wave goodbye Luna.” she turned to the sea lion who, to her surprise, actually waved a flipper at Dominik. 

“I can get her put away” Brett appeared out of nowhere with a smirk on his face as he eyed Dominik. 

“Ummm...thanks Brett, I’m going to lunch but we can go over the results from the swim test when I get back.” Skye patted Luna and then led Dominik to her office, blushing slightly as she slid on her shorts and grabbed her purse. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I gotta know. How did you end up with him? When you’re so…” Dominik trailed off causing Skye to giggle. It was a fair question. Her and Damian were an odd couple in most situations.

“We met while I was in college. A friend of mine dragged me to a show, she wanted to meet some wrestlers and Damian was one of them. He was going by Punishment Martinez then. Believe it or not he was really sweet, we got along really well and hit it off immediately. Even though he has longer hair than me and more tattoos than I can count. We worked.” Skye shrugged and took another bite of her sandwich while she watched Dominik mull over that information. He had driven them to a little cafe with picnic tables outside where they now sat eating. “What about you? You don’t have a girlfriend?” Skye asked. 

“Nah, when I was younger I was a bit wild but now that I'm older and all the traveling for my job, I just decided to wait until I found you.” Dominik spoke with such confidence and sincerity it took Skye by surprise. 

  
  


“You really believe we are destined to be together?” Skye asked quietly. 

“My parents are soulmates, I believe in soulmates so I believe in us.” Dominik replied simply. 

Before she could respond her phone buzzed. Pulling it out she sighed when she saw it was Damian telling her he wouldn’t be home until late. Dominik watched her carefully as she typed a quick reply and hit send. 

“I need to get back.” Skye said as she stood and tucked her phone back in her purse. Dominik insisted on paying for the lunch and they were silent as they got back into his SUV. 

“Skye, why are you still with him?” Dominik broke the silence, pulling her gaze away from the window. 

“What am i supposed to do? I moved here for him? I live with him? Everything I have here is with him.” Skye sighed. She had been asking herself the same question but she didn’t have enough money saved up to get a place of her own yet. 

“Move in with me.” Skye cursed when she realized Dominik had heard her last thought. 

“I’m not just going to hop into bed with you.” Skye protested. 

“I know, I have a spare room.” Dominik corrected with a laugh as he navigated them back to the Aquatic Research Center. 

“Why? Why does it matter so much to you?” Skye stared at him carefully before she got out of his vehicle. 

_ “You belong with me and you know it”  _ the thought echoed in Skye’s head and was accompanied by a small smile from Dominik. 

“The offer stands Skye. Thank you for having lunch with me.” Dominik pulled out a scrap of paper, scribbled quickly on it, folded it and handed it to her. 

Skye nodded, gave him a small wave and headed inside. Ignoring Brett she flopped down at her desk and opened the note. Inside in a messy handwriting was a phone number and an address. She smiled softly and tucked it back in her purse before pulling up the notes from Luna’s swim and typing in her new ones. 


	4. Chapter 4

Skye checked her hair and ran a hand down the skirt of her dress while looking in the small mirror in her office. Brett came in just as she was applying more lip gloss.

“Oohh, going to see that man that came by the other day? Friday night date?” he questioned with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“No, I’m going to my boyfriend’s match tonight. I have ring side seats and I want to look nice.”  _ And maybe a little bit because you know Dominik is going to be there.  _ She tossed her lip gloss back in her purse, ignoring the thought, along with the voice that told her Damian would hate the pink floral dress. He would prefer if she wore one of his merchandise shirts and a pair of black ripped skinny jeans that matched his normal attire. But she could tell him she hadn’t had time to change before the show. 

“Well if that wasn’t your boyfriend who was it? The way he looked in those shorts made me wish he was my soulmate.” Brett stared at her suspiciously when Skye almost choked on the sip of water she had just taken. 

“Ummmm...well...he’s kind of...my soulmate.” Skye finished quietly, quickly turning her attention to her computer. 

“He’s your what now?” Brett gasped and moved to the front of her desk, placing the files he had been carrying down. “Spill!”

Skye bit her lip before turning to face him. It would be kind of nice to talk to a non bias party about the situation, if you could call Brett’s appreciation of Dominik non bias. Checking the time she quickly filled him in on everything that had happened since she had first ran into Dominik nearly a week ago ending with admitting that she didn’t know what to do about the situation. 

“Well it sounds like your  _ boyfriend _ ” Brett paused to elaborately use finger quotes “doesn’t know what he has. And you’ve been here for how many weeks? And we’ve never seen him but Dominik comes strolling in for a lunch date, two days after he meets you? Honey, I think you need to do some reevaluating over which big, tall wrestler you need to be climbing. I have a date tonight but I’ll be dreaming of that man.”

“You believe in soulmates Brett?” she asked after laughing at his assessment of her love life. 

“Of course. Now as payment for my services you will be getting me tickets to one of these wrestling shows yes? It looks like you have options either way.” Brett ended with a wink. 

“I’ll see what I can do, I better get going.” Skye smiled and bid him goodnight as she grabbed her bag and headed to her car. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ What are you really doing here?  _ The thought repeated itself as Skye waited in the hallway outside of the locker room for Damian to appear. The show wasn’t set to start for another half hour and she should let him know she was here right?

“You’ve decided to fall in love with me?” Dominik appeared beside her causing her to jump and curse his ability to hear her thoughts. “You look nice.”

“Thank you” Skye smiled, ignoring his other comment. “I didn’t have time to change after work.” 

“You wore that to work? You were in a swimsuit the other day.” Dominik leaned against the wall her back was pressed to. 

“It’s either a nice outfit for meetings or a swimsuit for hands on work, there’s no in between.” Skye laughed, aware that he was close enough to feel the warmth of his arm beside hers but not quite touching her. She fought the urge to close the distance. 

“No swimming with Luna then?” he asked, seeming to be genuinely curious about her charge. 

Damian appeared from the locker room then and Skye reluctantly pushed away from the wall and Dominik to greet him. He frowned at her dress before turning to scowl at Dominik.

“I hope you aren’t here to ask me to take it easy on you tonight, especially since you’re out here talking up my girl.” he spat.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, your girl on the other hand deserves a compliment.” Dominik smirked before brushing past Damian and shooting a wink at Skye. “Hopefully she enjoys the match tonight.” He added as he headed down the hallway.

“Your match is against Dominik?” Skye asked, a sinking feeling starting in her stomach. 

“They like seeing the big guys fight.” Damien shrugged. “What are you wearing?” 

“I didn’t have time to change after work.” Skye shrugged. “I just wanted to let you know I was here before I went to my seat. Good luck.” She leaned up to kiss his cheek when he grunted before heading towards the audience section. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominik found her in the audience while Damian did his entrance, pleased to see she was watching him. She blushed at his wink and turned back to watching Damian. The match was as hard hitting as he expected with several near falls. He hadn’t tried to hide the mark on his hand but he hadn’t been blatantly showing it off out of respect for Skye. Damian probably wouldn’t have seen it if he hadn’t managed to get him in an arm bar. Dominik knew the exact moment because he froze above him and Dominik was able to throw him off. 

“So that’s why you keep hanging around.” Damian’s snarl was low enough that the audience wouldn’t pick it up but Dominik heard him clearly. 

“I’m not forcing her into anything.” Dominik replied, dodging a kick. 

“You aren’t taking her. She doesn't even believe in soulmates.” Damian moved in for a lock up bringing his face closer to Dominik. 

“May the best man win then.” Dominik reversed the hold and hoisted him into a back breaker following it up with a knee to the face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye gasped as Dominik got the pin over Damian, staring at her the duration of the three count and as the referee lifted his hand and declared him the winner.

_ He knows. _

Skye heard the words clearly and her heart started pounding. There was only one more match but it was going to be filled with Charlotte talking and Skye felt suffocated by the crowd around her. Deciding to head straight home and not risk a run in with Dominik or have a fight with Damian here she jumped in her car and started driving. 

By the time she reached the apartment it was starting to rain and she could hear her phone buzzing. There were several messages and missed calls from Damian and she sent him a message saying she was at home. Fifteen minutes later she heard him storming in as she dug through her laundry basket to find something comfortable to change into. 

“When were you planning on telling me that you had found your soulmate?” Damian’s voice was low. 

“I don’t even know that I believe in soulmates, you know that.” she replied softly, not turning to look at him. 

“Have you been seeing him behind my back?” he had moved to the side of the bed where he could see her face. 

“No.” Skye hesitated, “well, he showed up at my job a couple days ago and we had lunch.” 

“You went on a date with him!” Damian’s voice had risen to a growl and Skye shivered. 

“It wasn’t a date, it was just a lunch to decide how we were going to handle this. I didn’t tell you because I’m still wrapping my head around it.” Skye snapped back. 

“So you were what? Just going to take him for a test drive? Then tell me? Will you look at me” Damian yelled the last part and pushed the laundry basket she had been digging through across the floor. Skye was prepared to tell him that she would never do that but paused when she saw a red lacy thong on top of the spilled laundry. 

“What’s this?” Skye picked it up and whirled to face Damian. 

“Your underwear.” Damian replied but looked nervous. 

“I don’t wear thongs. You know that because you think I should. How did this get here?” Skye had backed him into the wall and he had the decency to look a little ashamed. 

“We were apart for so long and I have needs Skye, you know…” he didn’t get further before Skye slapped him across the face and threw the thong at him.

“I suspected, so many little things here and there but I never thought you would actually do it. We’ve been together for so long and I thought our relationship meant more to you than that. I met my soulmate and I was still willing to stay with you and I don’t even know why.” Skye struggled not to cry.

“You aren’t even giving me a chance to explain, things have changed since I moved out here.” Damian tried to pull her into his arms but she pushed him away. 

“You are right things have changed. I don’t even know who you are anymore. You sure as hell aren’t the same person I fell in love with. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize that.” Skye snapped and then grabbed her duffel bag from the closet. 

“What are you doing?” Damian stared at her as she started throwing clothes into the bag. 

“I’m leaving, I can’t stay here with you anymore.” Skye headed to the bathroom and started throwing more stuff into the bag. 

“Where are you going to go?” Damian asked as she zipped the bag and found her shoes. 

“That’s none of your concern. I’ll be back later for the rest of my stuff.” Skye yelled over her shoulder before slamming the door behind her. 

It had started raining harder and she was soaked by the time she made it to her car. Quickly starting it when she saw Damian on the front steps, she threw it in drive and took off. She had made it three blocks before she pulled over and took a deep breath. She thought over her options, she could get a seedy hotel but she wouldn’t be able to afford that for long. She was too far from her family for them to be of help, not that they would, her dad was going to be furious. Brett was on a date and she didn’t want to disturb him. Looking over at her purse, she sighed and stuck her hand into one of the small side pockets and pulled out a piece of paper. 


	5. Chapter 5

  


A streak of lightning lit up the house in front of her. She double checked the address and considered just sleeping in her car but a clap of thunder and her soaking clothes caused her to shiver. The storm had only gotten worse during the 20 minute drive to the address Dominik had given her.  _ I should have called, maybe he’s not home.  _ Skye dismissed that idea and pulled into the driveway as lightning lit up his SUV parked at the end. She had barely shut off the car when a porch light came on and she saw Dominik looking out a side door. She grabbed her bag and sprinted through the rain towards him. 

“I’m so sorry to show up like this but…” Skye started as he let her in but he cut her off with a fierce hug. 

“I have been crazy with worry, I didn’t have your number and no one else seemed to. I was on the verge of driving to your house.” Dominik exclaimed when he let her go. “Shit, you’re soaked, hang on.” 

“You were worried?” Skye was so shocked by his obvious worry that she had forgotten she was dripping wet. She sat her bag down on the floor and stepped out of her shoes. 

“Of course I was worried, I could tell you were panicked and you just took off and then Damian left in a hurry and was clearly pissed. I tried to reach out through our bond but I couldn’t hear you until a couple minutes ago.” Dominik reached into the dryer beside them and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her and rubbing her arms. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Skye whispered, looking at her feet. 

“Skye what happened, did he hurt you?” he asked quietly, tilting her chin up to look at him. 

“No, well not physically. We got into a fight, he accused me of cheating on him because I didn’t tell him. He knocked over a laundry basket in his anger and a pair of underwear that did not belong to me fell out.” Skye laughed bitterly. “He made up some bullshit excuse and I grabbed some of my stuff and left. I was in the car before I realized I didn’t have anywhere else to go and the storm was getting worse.” she shivered again and Dominik rubbed her arms again.

“I’m glad you came.” Dominik said softly. “I’m sorry you had to go through that though. Do you want to shower? Have you eaten?” 

“If you don’t mind, I would love to shower and change into something dry.” Skye answered. 

“Not a problem, follow me.” Dominik grabbed her bag and led her into a dining room that was open to a kitchen and then through a living room and into a hallway.

“My bedroom is at that end, here is the bathroom,“ Dominik pointed to his left and then opened the door in front of them. “Towels are in here and this way is your room.” he showed her down the hall and opened the door to reveal a room with a dresser, nightstand and full size bed. “It’s not much, but this room is last on my remodel list.” Dominik placed her bag down on the bed. 

“Your remodel list?” Skye asked, taking in the small room and moving towards her bag. 

“This used to be my parents house, this was my room. I bought it off them when they moved to the retirement community across town. I’ve been remodeling it as I have time.” Dominik smiled and shrugged. 

“That’s really neat.” Skye smiled back at him as she dug through her clothes. “Oh crap” she dumped the bag on the bed and scowled at the contents.

“Something wrong? Is everything wet?” Dominik asked, averting his eyes from the bras. 

“I didn’t grab any pajamas. Not even a regular t-shirt, I was in such a hurry to leave…” she trailed off with a sigh.

“Well, lucky for you, I wear shirts. You can borrow one of mine. I’ll go grab one.” Dominik headed towards his room and Skye grabbed what she would need for a shower, meeting him outside the bathroom. 

“Thank you for doing this.” Skye accepted the shirt he handed her as she sat her things down on the tub. 

“I’m happy to do it and I’m happy you’re here.” Dominik shrugged. “Take your time.”

Skye stared at the door he closed behind him for a minute before quickly shedding her soaked dress and turning the water on. Stepping into the stream she sighed at the warmth and thought about what had happened with Damian. She wasn’t as upset as she thought she would be, they had been dating for almost ten years, shouldn’t she still be sobbing right now? Her tears were mostly angry ones not heartbroken ones. Sighing, she pushed it to the side and finished her shower.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominik heard the shower stop while he was setting the table. It wasn’t often he sat down and ate in his dining room, let alone with someone else. She was thinking hard and he was doing his best to block her out, she probably wouldn’t appreciate it right now. He needed to know how much she understood about their telepathic bond and that she could control it if she tried. Based on their previous discussion, she didn’t know alot about how soulmate bonds worked. It was a daunting task but his parents had prepared him for it and he couldn’t lie, he was excited for it. 

Heading back to the kitchen he checked the casserole in the oven, thankful his mom had made him one the day before. He was pulling it out of the oven when Skye emerged from the bathroom and wandered into the kitchen. His breath caught slightly at the sight of her. Her hair was loose and hung down her back, his shirt almost covered the pair of shorts she was wearing and her feet were bare. 

“That smells good” she blushed at his staring and wrung her hands in the corner. 

“My mom’s chicken noodle casserole, she dropped it off yesterday.” he snapped himself out of his staring to answer her. 

“Can I help?” she nodded to the casserole on the stove. 

“Everything’s ready, but if you want, you can grab the drinks.” he nodded to one of the cabinets. “There’s water, tea, milk, maybe a beer in the fridge.” he smiled as he headed to the dining room. Skye followed with two glasses of water and sat down beside him. Skye was silent as they ate and he could tell she was nervous. He could hear snippets of thoughts that ended abruptly.

“Skye, you should know that you can block me from hearing your thoughts if you want to. I’m not completely sure how, but my parents would probably know.” Dominik suggested causing her to blush. 

“Oh my gosh, i’m sorry, I just don’t know how this works. I’m so grateful for you offering me a place to stay but I don’t want you to think…” Skye stopped when he raised his hand. 

“I have no expectations Skye. You don’t owe me anything. I'm not going to force it. You just got out of a serious relationship, you need some time, I get that. We’re soulmates, it will happen when it’s supposed to happen. In the meantime, let’s get to know each other.” Dominik smiled at her and scooped more casserole onto his plate. 

“I think I can handle that.” Skye smiled back at him, scowling when her phone started ringing and she saw it was Damian. Glancing at Dominik she hit ignore, turned her phone off and asked Dominik to tell her about the house remodel while they ate. 


	6. Chapter 6

  


Skye stretched and rolled over to look at her phone. 6:30 am, her normal wake up time, even without an alarm. Rolling back over it took her a minute to remember she was in Dominik’s house in his spare bedroom, that she had broken up with Damian and ended up here. Sighing she untangled herself from the blankets and slid her shorts back on. She had no idea when Dominik was planning on getting up. Slowly opening the door and peering down the hall revealed a quiet house. She could faintly hear Dominik snoring behind the other closed door as she headed to the bathroom. 

A quick search of the kitchen and she had a pot of coffee going while she dug her notebook and pen out of her purse. Taking a cup and some toast into the dining room table she started working on a list of everything she needed to grab from Damian’s apartment. Reading back over she heard her phone buzz and flipped it over, she had ignored it since turning it off last night and she was shocked by the amount of missed calls and texts from Damian. She also had a missed call from her dad and a text from her mom. Damian would have called them when she didn’t answer. Her dad loved him and he knew it. Rolling her eyes, she was debating on calling her mom to assess the damage when Dominik shuffled into the kitchen. He looked sleepy and headed straight for the coffee. 

“Good morning.” she said brightly when he sat down beside her. 

“Mmmm” he grumbled back causing her to giggle. 

“Not a morning person?” she asked, smiling at his grunt in response. “I’m sorry if I woke you, I’ve always been an early riser.”

“I hate mornings, but they’re a little more bearable if the coffee is already made and you’re here.” Dominik shot her a wink when she blushed and looked back at her list. “What are you working on?”

“The stuff I need to get from Damian’s apartment. I’m hoping to get it all when he goes to workout and I don’t want to forget anything.” Skye shrugged as Dominik looked at the list. 

“My SUV is bigger than your car, I’ll come with you.” he said as he got up to pour another cup of coffee. 

“You don’t have to do that, you’ve already let me stay here.” Skye protested, “we need to talk about rent also.”

“It will take you more than one trip if you do it alone in your car, if we both do it and take my SUV, it will be done faster and you don’t have to go back and risk running into him.” Dominik responded. “And I’m not going to charge you rent.”

“You’re right, thank you. But you have to let me pay you something if i’m going to stay here.” Skye raised her eyebrow at him as he rejoined her at the table.

“You can get the groceries and decide the meal plan if it will make you feel better. I hate doing both and don’t have a lot of time for it.” Dominik suggested after thinking it over. 

“Deal” Skye grinned. “I had planned on going at 10:00, he usually works out from 10:00 to Noon and then eats lunch. That should give us more than enough time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t see his car” Skye sighed with relief as they pulled up to Damian’s apartment. Grabbing her keys and the empty bags they had brought, she led Dominik to the apartment and got to work. 

“How long did you live here?” Domink asked as they were packing up her books and movies in the living room. 

“A couple months but I helped him tour places when he signed with WWE. I moved in after I graduated and moved down here.” Skye shrugged as she moved towards the kitchen to grab her few things in there. 

“It doesn’t look like a female lived here at all.” Dominik followed her, holding the box as she tossed items in. 

“He was picky about everything and I didn’t bring a lot with me. I moved in with him straight from my parents house so most of the stuff is his.” Skye explained, double checking her list of the two rooms. “Bathroom next.” 

“I’ll take these boxes down while you start on that.” Dominik suggested. 

“Are you afraid of women’s bathroom items?” Skye teased. Dominik relied with a grin as he headed out the door. By the time he returned, she had packed up her bathroom items and the towels she had picked out, laughing as she realized Damian wouldn’t have any others. Heading into the bedroom, Skye opened her side of the closet for Dominik and then headed to the dresser to start throwing her bras, panties and other smaller items into a duffel bag. She was taking the bag into the living room when the door opened and Damian walked in. 

“Skye! I’ve been trying to call...what are you doing?” Damian’s confused face almost made Skye laugh. 

“I’m getting my stuff, we’re almost done.” Skye said calmly. 

“Skye, I’m assuming if it’s a dress it’s yours but….” Dominik stopped, arms full of dresses, as he appeared from the bedroom and saw Damian. “Hey.”

“Why is he in our apartment?” Damian growled. 

“He is in  _ your  _ apartment, helping me get  _ my _ stuff.” Skye retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Skye, baby, you can’t be serious.” Damian dropped the glare as he turned to Skye. 

“You accused me of cheating while someone else’s underwear was in my laundry basket! Then you told me it was my fault you cheated! And I know you called my parents!” Skye stepped away from him towards Dominik. 

“So you went running to your lover boy here? Clearly I wasn’t the only one cheating.” Damian sneered. 

“Hey now, Skye didn’t do anything wrong.” Dominik placed Skye’s clothes in the box and stepped forward.

“This conversation has nothing to do with you.” Damian stepped towards him but was stopped by Skye stepping in between them. 

“Skye is my soulmate, if it has to do with her, it has to do with me.” Dominik replied. 

“This isn't up to either one of you. Damian, we aren’t happy. I haven’t been for awhile. It’s over. Just let me get my things. Dominik, can you please just take the boxes down, I’m almost done.” Skye pleaded from between them. 

Dominik eyed her carefully. _ I don’t want to leave you alone with him.  _ Concentrating on sending the thought to her. 

“I’ll be fine I promise,” Skye easily replied back to him, not even realizing he hadn’t spoken it out loud before heading back to the bedroom. Dominik smirked at Damian who had noticed the exchange and was staring at Skye.

“You’ve been sleeping with my girl, I’m not going to let you get away with this.” Damian threatened as Dominik picked up the boxes. 

“We haven’t done anything but I would imagine she’s owed a few orgasms after being with you.” Dominik winked as he headed out the door. 

Skye was quick to finish packing her stuff and sat the last bag by the door, pulling her keys out of her pocket and turning to Damian who had been following her around. 

“Skye, we can work through this.” Damian made another attempt but Skye sat the key firmly on the counter.

“No, we can’t. We’re living different lives now, we’re different people now. You don’t care about me, I was just convenient for you. Now you have room for all the conveniences you want.” Skye sighed. “Good luck Damian, I mean that.” 

Skye smiled sadly at him before grabbing her bag and heading down to where Dominik was waiting to take the bag from her. 

“You ok?” he asked once they had gotten in the vehicle. 

“I will be.” she smiled back at him as they headed out of the parking lot. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: One of the lines in this one is straight out of a book in my favorite book series: Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie Mcguire. All credit goes to her but it’s one of my favorite lines in all her books and I highly recommend her.

  


Skye hummed along to the song as she pulled into work on Monday morning. She had spent the rest of the weekend unpacking her stuff and boxing up what she didn’t need right away. Dominik had helped her put the boxes in the garage in between working on the yard. She had offered to help but he had waved her off. It hadn’t stopped her from watching him out the window a few times though. 

Her phone rang as she reached her office and she sighed when she read her Dad’s name on the caller ID. Both her parents had continued to call yesterday but Skye wasn’t ready to talk to them. Damian would have called them about her leaving, and if her grandma hadn’t already, about Dominik as well. Sending the call to voicemail, she sent him a text saying she would call after work and then powered up her computer to check her email. 

Her first email was a reminder from Brett that he was on vacation this week but expected a full report on the “tall wrestler situation” when he returned. Skye laughed to herself as she continued on to the next one detailing Luna’s progress and that the board wanted to meet with her to discuss her release back into the ocean. Skye looked down at the simple black dress she was wearing, thankful she had started packing a nice outfit and a swimsuit after the lunch date with Dominik and then began to prepare her notes for the meeting. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Please don’t answer, please don’t answer” Skye mumbled to herself as the phone rang. The drive back to Dominik’s provided her the perfect opportunity to call her parents. She was fairly sure she wasn’t going to want Dominik to overhear this conversation. 

“It’s about time you called us back!” Her father’s voice echoed over the speakerphone and Skye grimaced. 

“Hi dad” she responded, “sorry it took so long, it’s been a busy week, how are you guys?.” 

“A busy week! You broke up with Damian and are shacking up with some guy you barely know because he claims to be your soulmate. We didn’t even find out from you! I thought we raised you better than this.” he continued his rant while Skye sighed. She knew this was coming but she hadn’t expected it to be quite so harsh. 

“Did Damian even bother to tell you why I actually left him?” Skye asked as calmly as she could, knuckles clenched white on the steering wheel. 

“Because you found your soulmate, his rival, which is cruel Skye.” her father’s answer was drowned out by Skye’s bitter laugh. 

“So he didn’t mention that I found another woman’s underwear in our laundry or that he’s cheated on me multiple times since moving here? Or that he doesn’t care about my career? All that matters is his? He couldn’t even be bothered to come to the first fundraising gala in a couple weeks.” Skye paused to catch her breath. “I’ve known Dominik for barely two weeks and he’s already shown more support and interest in my career than Damian did in nearly ten years. I’m not hopping into bed with him, he’s letting me stay in his extra room until I can get everything figured out.” 

There was silence on the line long enough for Skye to think they had gotten disconnected and he had missed her rant. A shuffling sound and then her mom’s voice came on the line. 

“Your father left the room. He’s not very happy.” she said. 

“Were you listening too?” Skye asked, relieved that her mom didn’t sound very upset. 

“Yes, and I talked to your grandma yesterday. She told me about your conversation. Why didn’t you tell me Skye?” she sounded hurt and Skye felt her anger begin to rise again. 

“Why didn’t I tell you? You have spent my whole life making me believe this was all nonsense, and then I find out you had a soulmate that you never told me about. You didn’t tell me anything! Now, i’m trying to figure all this out while the future I thought I had planned is falling apart in front of me.” Skye’s voice cracked on the last sentence but she refused to let herself cry.

“That’s fair” her mom sighed. “Your father and I agreed to not speak of this to our children, even before we had you. And then you came out with that little mark, and it only grew with you. We both knew what it was and your grandma wanted us to reconsider but your father wouldn’t relent. We were only trying to protect you.”

“You didn’t consider how I would feel if I found my soulmate?” Skye asked, realizing she was already close to her exit. 

“No, I guess part of me hoped it was just a birthmark.” her mom admitted. “Does he know about soulmates?”

“Ya, Dominik knows everything. His parents are soulmates and he believes in it wholeheartedly.” Skye thought of Dominik’s excitement and confidence in their situation. “He’s been waiting for this his whole life.” 

“That’s wonderful Skye. Maybe we could come visit you and meet him?” she asked warily. 

“Dad would come visit?” Skye sounded doubtful. 

“Well, probably not. But your grandma already has a suitcase packed.” her mom admitted, causing Skye to laugh. 

“I’d like that, let me get back to you on when i’m free.” Skye said, pulling into the driveway, seeing Dominik putting the lawn mower in the garage. “Love you mom” 

“Love you too Skye.” her mom responded as Skye hung up the phone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you have any dirty jeans?” Dominik’s question caused Skye to look up in confusion from the pile of papers surrounding her on her bedroom floor. 

“Ummm, in my hamper. Why?” she asked, pointing to the corner by the closet. 

“I’m doing a load and there’s room in the washer.” he responded, heading towards the basket. 

“My jeans don’t know your jeans well enough to be washed together.” Skye grinned up at him. 

“Well there's no point in wasting water for two people to do laundry separately. They can get better acquainted” Dominik chuckled as he left the room with her basket in tow. 

Skye laughed as she stood to follow him to the washer. They had fallen into an easy routine as the week had passed. She woke up first and made the coffee and breakfast which usually lured Dominik out of bed. Skye showered and got ready while he cleaned up and got dressed for his workout. They usually left the house around the same time depending if Dominik had a show that night. On the nights where he didn’t they would eat dinner at the table and talk about their day. He showered at night after dinner while Skye prepared everything for the next day. Standing there sorting the laundry while he switched it, Skye was a little struck by how domestic they had become so quickly. 

“That’s what happens when you’re destined to be together.” Dominik smirked at her and she blushed at the realization that he had heard her thoughts. 

“I thought you could only read my thoughts during intense emotions?” Skye looked at him suspiciously. 

“The closer we get the easier it will be unless you block them from me.” he shrugged. “I do try to block you most of the time to be fair.” he added with a smile. 

“Thanks...I guess” Skye laughed. “When will you show me how to do it?” 

“Whenever you want, I have no shows or plans this weekend.” he replied, clearly excited to teach her more about their bond. 

“I just have to finalize the paperwork for Luna’s release. That’s what all the paperwork I brought home is.” Skye explained. 

“That’s great! Congratulations!” Dominik replied. 

“Thank you, I’m really excited.” Skye bounced a little, smiling when he laughed. She realized they were staring at each other and had moved a little closer. Biting her lip she stepped back and headed to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water to cool her blush. 


	8. Chapter 8

Skye smiled at the pile of papers in front of her as she stirred her coffee. Luna’s release papers along with all of her notes. She had worked on compiling everything for the majority of the weekend. She had started in her room but with Dominik traveling over the weekend for shows she had slowly spread out over the Dining Room table. Speaking of Dominik, he had told her his plane had been delayed and would be home late last night but his SUV wasn’t in the driveway. Deciding to wait until after her shower to text him, she headed for the bathroom after neatly piling the paperwork on the table and depositing her coffee cup in the sink. 

The house was still quiet as she made her way to her room after the shower. Her mind was racing with everything that was involved with releasing Luna back into the ocean, including passing the final swim test today. Deciding on her blue striped swim top and black boyshort bottoms for the swim she headed back to the bathroom to pull her hair up. 

Opening the door she couldn’t recall closing she froze with a squeak at the sight of Dominik getting ready to step into the shower. A glance downward made her cover her eyes. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were home!” _ Going to put that in the pro soulmate column though. _ She blushed at the thought and situation as she peeked through her fingers enough to clumsily grab for one of her hair ties. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment” he winked, “I yelled that I was home and heading to the shower. I’ve been stuck in an airport and then on a plane for way too long.” Dominik replied, standing proudly and making no move to cover himself. 

“Sorry...been thinking about Luna’s release...I gotta head to work...see you tonight.” Skye ran into the doorframe after failing to not glance at him again. Grabbing her bag and sliding her shoes on she quickly got in her car and headed to work leaving a smiling Dominik singing in the shower. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Brett did you grab the portfolio for Luna’s release?” Skye yelled as she rummaged through the folders on her desk. The swim had gone perfectly and all that was left was to give the final report to the committee by noon, a mere forty-five minutes away, she noted, looking at the clock. 

“No, I haven’t seen it since Friday when you took it home.” Brett said, walking into her office. 

“Oh no.” Skye paled, grabbing her bag and dumping it on her desk. “No, no, no.” 

“What’s wrong?” Brett asked. 

“I left it at home on the dining room table. I was so distracted by....” she trailed off with a blush causing Brett to raise an eyebrow at her. “I moved in with Dominik after the whole fiasco with Damian...and I walked in on him in the shower this morning.” she admitted with a sigh. 

“And you are just now telling me! What did you see? What did he do! Do you have separate rooms?” Brett exclaimed, clearly not sure what he wanted to talk about first. She had told him earlier about the fight with Damian and Dominik helping her move her stuff, she had just conveniently left out that he had helped her move her stuff to his house. 

“That’s not important right now! I don’t have time to go home and get those papers without breaking all the speed limits!” Skye groaned, ignoring the flashback of exactly what she had seen this morning. 

“You could call him.” Brett offered. 

“I...Fuck.” Skye groaned, glancing at the clock again and grabbing for her phone. She chewed on her thumbnail as she waited for him to answer.

“Skye? Are you ok?” Dominik sounded faintly out of breath, like he had hurried to the phone. 

“Yes...I’m sorry to bother you. Are you home?” Skye ignored Brett’s grin and turned her back to him. 

“Ya, just getting ready to head to the gym. What’s up?” he replied. 

“Is there a portfolio of papers on the Dining Room table?” Skye crossed her fingers. 

“Let me check.” Skye could hear the rustling as he made his way to the Dining Room. “Yes there is. Do you need them?” 

“Ummm yes. I have to turn them in by Noon, could I meet you halfway?” Skye turned back to her desk and started shoving stuff back in her bag. 

“I can be there in 20 minutes.” Dominik said simply and Skye could hear him picking up his keys. 

“Thank you so much, I’m so sorry, I hurried out and forgot about it after…” Skye trailed off, ignoring the chuckle that escaped Brett. 

“I’m happy to hear it was a memorable experience. I’ll text you when I’m close.” Dominik hung up and Skye could practically see the grin on his face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly 18 minutes later Brett appeared at her office door followed by Dominik. Kiya jumped up from her desk and grabbed the portfolio from him. 

“I’ll be right back!” Skye yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted to Maria’s office.

After a brief conversation with her boss and a reminder about the Fundraising Gala in a couple weeks, Skye headed back to her office. She found Dominik sitting at her desk and laughing at something Brett was telling him. 

“How did it go?” Brett asked, noticing her enter the room. 

“She said everything looks good and that she would present it to the committee, then reminded me about the Gala.” Skye rolled her eyes on the last part and then turned to Dominik, “Thank you so much for bringing it, I had no time to run home and back or get new copies of all the paperwork.” Skye leaned up and pressed a swift kiss to his cheek, pleased to see that she had finally made him blush a little.

“So will you be joining Skye at the Fundraising Gala?” Brett asked with a grin, causing the two to spring away from each other. 

“Brett!” Skye snapped. 

“What? You have a plus one and you don’t have a boyfriend anymore.” Brett pointed out with a shrug. 

“I’d love to go, but only if Skye wants me to and I don’t have a big show.” Dominik grinned at her. 

The phone on Skye’s desk started ringing and saved her from answering the question. Dominik waved and smiled as she sat down to answer the phone. She returned the wave and focused on the call from one of the committee members asking for clarification on a few of Luna’s notes. 

Brett was waiting patiently in front of her desk when she finished the call and she rolled her eyes knowing he was going to want all the details on everything that had happened with her and Dominik while he was on vacation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re living with him and haven’t climbed that like a tree? There was so much sexual tension between you two, I almost had an orgasm.” Brett fanned himself with a napkin. 

“Will you be quiet!” Skye shoved his arm playfully. They had gone to the same little restaurant Dominik had taken her to for lunch and Skye had just finished telling him about the shower incident. 

“So what’s holding you back? He’s cute, seems nice, has his life together, can do domestic chores, has a steady job, loves his parents and did I mention cute?” Brett asked, taking a sip of his drink. 

“I don’t know. I just got out of a serious relationship. I’m not even sure I believe in soulmates.” Skye admitted, pushing her food around her plate. 

“Don’t believe or aren’t willing to let yourself believe.” Brett raised an eyebrow at her. “He looks like he’s half in love with you already.” 

“What if he loves the idea of having a soulmate but doesn’t actually love me?” Skye shot back at him. Brett thought for a minute before shrugging. 

“I guess it’s a good thing you guys will have plenty of time to find out then.” Brett winked at her and Skye shook her head and signaled for the check. 


	9. Chapter 9

Skye used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she looked out over the beach. It was a beautiful day to return Luna and two other sea lions to the ocean. The committee had signed off on the release with no hesitation and her and Brett had been commended on their excellent and speedy treatment. 

“Lover boy is here.” Brett was looking at the crowd gathered behind the barricade and Skye followed his gaze to see Dominik standing in the front. His height made him easy to spot and he waved when he saw her looking. She returned the wave with a smile before turning back to the kennel Luna was in. The sea lion had perked up when she smelled the sea and Skye felt a tinge of sadness followed by guilt about releasing her.  _ She belongs out there, not in a cage, no matter how nice. _ Skye told herself sternly and began the final preparations. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominik heard Skye’s thought but didn’t want to distract her while she was working, so focused on keeping his thoughts to himself while watching her and the team prepare to release Luna. She had been avoiding him the last couple of days which he chalked up to her being embarrassed about the shower incident and busy working out the details for the release. She had left a note on the fridge with the location and time if he wanted to see it and he jumped at the opportunity. 

He watched as the volunteers made a small barrier around the kennels to herd the sea lions towards the sea and then saw Skye take a deep breath as she squatted in front of the kennel and said a few words to Luna before standing back as the kennel doors were opened. All three sea lions headed immediately for the water as the crowd cheered. Brett and Skye hugged each other tightly as the creatures disappeared into the waves. Brett said something before pushing her in Dominik’s direction and she slowly made her way to him as the crowds dispersed. 

“Thanks for coming,” she said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

“It was an exciting thing to see. Are you ok?” Dominik looked at her with concern. 

“It’s what’s best for her, I’m just going to miss her a little.” Skye shrugged and looked down, burying her toes in the sand. 

“I have an idea to get your mind off it. Do you have plans after work?” Dominik smiled when she shook her head. “Great, i’ll see you at home. It looks like you’re needed.” Dominik pointed to where Maria was standing with a news crew and waving her over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is your idea of getting my mind off it?” Skye looked in horror at the movie Dominik had put on the screen. She had arrived home to the smell of popcorn and pizza, complete with her favorite soda and some blankets and pillows thrown on the floor to create a cozy place to watch a movie. Dominik had urged her to change into something comfortable while he put the movie on. 

“Do you not like scary movies? Will you scream?” Dominik smirked and grabbed her hand to pull her down beside him. “I will protect you.” 

“I’m just not a Freddy Kruger fan,” Skye blushed and folded her legs underneath her creating some space between them before grabbing a piece of the pizza and leaning against the couch. 

An hour and a half later Skye was bundled in a blanket and taking small peaks at the screen from Dominik’s shoulder as Freddy tormented a woman on screen. Dominik chuckled when Skye squeaked and squeezed her leg in a comforting gesture. She sighed in relief when Freddy was defeated and the credits rolled only to jump when thunder sounded outside. 

“It’s just a little storm, no one’s going to get you.” Dominik said as they gathered up the plates and cups. 

“I...I know.” Skye stuttered slightly. “Thank you for distracting me tonight.” she added with a yawn. 

“My pleasure, sleep well.” Dominik replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye screamed as she ran down a hallway, desperately trying to find a place to hide but the creature was gaining on her. She rounded a corner only to find a dead end, turning slowly she screamed again as she felt the creature grab her arms.

“Skye! Skye! Wake up!” Dominik yelled as he shook her to wake her up from the nightmare. Skye shot up in bed, struggling against Dominik’s hold. “Skye it’s me, wake up sweetheart.” 

Finally Skye opened her eyes and stopped fighting against his hold. Trembling she flung her arms around his neck, launching herself onto his lap. Dominik caught her and rubbed her back gently. 

“I’m sorry I woke you.” Skye mumbled once she was finally able to calm down. 

“It’s ok, i’m sorry I made you watch a scary movie.” Dominik replied.

“I’m ok now.” Skye lifted her head from his shoulder and carefully moved out of his lap, thankful the room was dark enough to hide her blush. 

“Are you sure? I can stay.” he offered but Skye shook her head. 

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for rescuing me from my dream.” she laughed softly. Dominik nodded and headed back to his room, closing Skye’s door behind him. 

Skye laid awake after he left trying to ignore the storm outside. She became aware of a scratching on her window and rolled over, telling herself that it was probably just a branch moving against the window. A flash of lightning lit up her room, casting a shadow on the wall she was staring at that caused her to pull the blanket higher. An accompanying clap of thunder had her standing outside Dominik’s door with her hand on the door knob. 

“Skye what is it?” Dominik propped himself up on his elbows when she entered his room. 

“There’s a tree branch outside my window and I know it’s stupid but it sounds like it’s scratching and I’m scared…” she trailed off as rain began to pelt the house. 

“Come on,” Dominik held up the blanket on the empty side of the bed and Skye hurried to join him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye woke up the next morning later than she had in a long time and surrounded by warmth. Turning her head she realized it was because her back was pressed snugly against Dominik’s front, one arm thrown over her stomach and her head resting on his other one. She was also aware of a hardness against her back that made the images of walking on him in the bathroom flash through her mind. 

“Good morning” Dominik’s sleepy voice in her ear made her smile. 

“Dominik. Will you come to the Gala with me?” Skye asked quietly, focusing on the arm beneath her head. 

“I’ve never been to a gala. Do I have to wear a suit?” Dominik shifted slightly, becoming aware his morning wood was pressed against her.

“It’s a black tie event.” Skye rolled over and propped her head on her arm.

“I’d be honored to go with you.” Dominik smiled at her. 

Skye smiled in return before hopping out of bed and heading to the kitchen to start coffee. Dominik sprawled on his bed for a minute, listening to her hum and move cups around before grabbing his phone and sending a quick message to his friend Keith about where he could get fitted for a suit.


	10. Chapter 10

  


Groaning when her phone rang, Skye marked the page in her book and flipped over to her back. Dominik was out getting a suit for the Gala and Skye had taken the opportunity to drag a lounge chair to a sunny spot in the backyard with a book and her phone to get some sun and just relax. The storm had left behind a gentle breeze and she had wanted to work on her tan a little. Waking up in Dominik’s bed was forcing her to reexamine how she felt about him and the situation. She had ignored her phone for the most part especially after scrolling through Twitter and seeing that Damian had won the North American Championship in a ladder match and grumbling that it should have been Dominik. 

“Hi Grandma” she answered the call with a smile. 

“Hello, my dear. Did you sleep with him?” her Grandma quickly replied.

“What? Grandma! No!” Skye spluttered. 

“So you didn’t spend the night in his bed?” she sounded suspicious and Skye’s face heated up. 

“No! Well….ummmm. How do you even know that?” Skye squeaked, trying not to remember how warm and comfortable waking up in Dominik’s arms had been. Her grandma chuckled in response and Skye continued defensively. “We were watching a scary movie and I had a nightmare during the storm. I couldn’t sleep...” she ended thankful no one could see her red face. It sounded silly in the light of day. A grown adult having a nightmare. 

“So you went to your soulmate for comfort and safety? There’s no harm in that Skye.” her grandma had stopped cackling and her voice was now soothing.

“I don’t need him to keep me safe Grandma, I'm a big girl.” Skye protested. 

“Need? Maybe not. But want? I think you do. You’ve now ran to him twice.” Grandma practically hummed through the phone. 

“I...We…” Skye stuttered but couldn’t put the words together.

“Shhh. Just think about it Skye. There’s no harm in needing someone. You’re human, and the fates have hardwired you two for each other. It’s natural that you would turn to him in times of need. And as for wanting? Well...he’s a nice looking young man as you have seen.” Skye listened to her grandmother's words while staring at the mark on her hand, blushing at just how much of Dominik she had seen. 

“I promise I will think about it.” Skye said softly, a small smile appearing on her face when she saw Dominik’s SUV pulling into the driveway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You don’t understand man, sleeping with her was the best sleep I’ve gotten in years and all we did was sleep.” Dominik said over the top of the changing room.

“I understand perfectly my friend.” Keith Lee chuckled and shook his head at his best “frenemy”. Dominik had begged him to come help him get a suit for the Gala, wanting to make a good impression for the soulmate he had stumbled across. Keith remembered the quiet girl in the shadow of Damian well. She had always been polite and nice but never seemed quite happy to Keith’s empathetic gaze. Dominik was head over heels for the little brunette already but she was keeping him at bay. 

“If it’s not too personal, how did you get Mia to trust you.” Dominik asked softly. Keith smiled in response to his question. Mia had shut him down completely the first time they met so he understood his friend’s frustration. Mia was an abuse survivor and had no interest in a soulmate after what she had been through. 

“Being patient, kind, understanding.” Keith gave Dominik a look as he emerged from the room in a grey suit. “She already knows she can count on you. Just keep being there.” Keith grinned at Dominik’s nod. “Did you say her dress was grey?” 

“Ya, it’s hanging on her bedroom door. I saw it this morning.” Dominik replied. 

“Then you should look at a black one, it will compliment her dress but she will still stand out.” Keith pointed out earning him a raised eyebrow. “You wanted me to come help you, now let me help.” Keith nodded to the tailor standing beside them. 

The next few minutes passed in silence as they swapped out the pants, jacket and tie. Dominik disappeared back into the changing room, though his height made him visible from the shoulders up, and Keith broke the silence.

“I think you already have a major advantage over Damian in her eyes.” This caused Dominik to look at Keith with a questioning look. “You know what she does and offers support. From the argument I overheard the night you met her, Damian is so preoccupied with his own career, he hadn’t bothered to care much about hers. Women like when a man, especially one trying to get into her pants, pay attention to their interests and jobs.”

“I’m not just trying to get into her pants Keith.” Dominik objected, causing Keith to laugh. Keith knew how much Dominik had longed to meet his soulmate and how much it had frustrated him to find her tied up with one of his enemies and then how little she understood about their bond. 

“I know.” Keith clapped Dominik on the shoulder as he emerged in the black suit and the tailor started taking measurements. 

After the suit fitting Dominik treated Keith to lunch where he received more of the seemingly limitless Keith Lee wisdom on how to handle making his soulmate fall in love with him. Between the advice and the buzz from sleeping with her curled up in his arms Dominik was whistling the whole way home. His whistle died in his throat and he gulped audibly when he pulled into his driveway and was treated to the sight of Skye in a black bikini smiling at him 

“How did the suit fitting go?” she asked, pushing her sunglasses up so they rested on his head. 

“It went really well. It will be ready on Friday, they had to make some alterations.” Dominik struggled to keep himself from gawking at her and maintaining eye contact. 

“That’s what happens when you’re a giant.” Skye winked and shoved his arm playfully before heading over to grab her chair and phone from the yard.

_ What did I do to deserve a soulmate with an ass like that.  _ Dominik groaned under his breath as he watched her go.

“I’ll take that as a compliment!” Skye called back over her shoulder, repeating the words he had said to her when she walked in on him in the shower. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recognize that Vince has made a decision about Dominik’s career, but given that it’s a stupid ass decision, I’m electing to ignore it. Also Coronavirus does not exist here.

Skye smoothed the dress down after wiggling into her heels. The dress was perfect, it hugged her curves without being revealing. Turning in the mirror she took one last look at her reflection before grabbing her clutch and heading to the living room. She was almost nervous for tonight and she couldn’t explain why. Maybe it was the buzz that surrounded her and Dominik whenever they were near each other. She had returned to her own bed but for some reason it didn’t feel quite the same, less warm and comforting. Her thoughts stopped abruptly when she walked into the living room and Dominik turned around to face her. He looked impossibly handsome in a black suit that fit him perfectly. 

“You clean up nice.” Skye smiled and bit her lip nervously as Dominik stared at her.

“You look beautiful.” he finally choked out, clearing his throat. “My lady” he held out his arm and Skye giggled as she took it and let him escort her to his SUV, opening the door for her before going around to his side. 

“Did you clean out your car?” Skye asked as he backed out of the drive. 

“Of course, I wouldn't want either of us showing up with a Taco Bell wrapper stuck to our butt.” Dominik replied, causing Skye to roll her eyes at his addiction. 

They made small talk on the way to the building hosting the Gala with Skye expressing her annoyance that Damian had been having champaign hot tub parties since he won the title. Dominik made her laugh by pointing out that hot water in his gear would be a pain to take off so he probably wasn’t getting anywhere. 

They both stared in awe as they stepped out of the vehicle and the valet gave Dominik a ticket before whisking the SUV to the parking area. The building was huge and lit up with a ton of twinkling lights. There were screens around the room with photos of the various animals they had helped as well as the numerous trainers and biologists who worked for the organization. Dominik touched Skye’s back and pointed out one of Skye with Luna on one of her test swims, causing Skye to smile brightly. 

“Skye! There you are! And who is your date?” Maria waved at them as she made her way over.

“Hi Maria! This is my...uh...Dominik.” Skye stuttered and blushed as Dominik shook her hand. 

“Oh yes, Brett mentioned how you saved the day for us before Luna’s release.” Maria appraised Dominik before noting another biologist out of the corner of her eye and waving at him. “I have to go speak to him, but you will be mentioned during the speech so be prepared to smile, wave and possibly answer questions.” Maria hurried off before Skye could reply. 

“I’m happy to be here as  _ your _ Dominik.” Dominik leaned down to whisper to Skye, snapping her out of her daze following Maria’s announcement. She shook her head with a grin and headed over to the table where she could see Brett and his date. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominik’s laugh was quickly smothered when Skye elbowed him as the main speaker continued to talk and Brett pretended to stab him with his spoon from dessert. They applauded when he finally finished and Maria approached the stand to talk about the success stories over the past year. Dominik felt Skye stiffen and he pulled her hand into his lap and squeezed gently, returning her smile when she squeezed his hand and smiled at him. 

“And most recently the addition of our newest marine biologist Dr. Skye Simmons has seen a successful rehabilitation and return of a sea lion damaged by a fishing net. Luna, as we named her, was returned to the sea in a record amount of time using new techniques and a one on one approach. Through donations like yours, we are able to employ more biologists and techniques to save and return more animals to the ocean. Dr. Simmons is in attendance tonight and would be happy to answer any questions you may have.” Maria waved her hand in Skye’s direction and she stood and waved as the crowd applauded politely and Dominik winked at her, beaming with pride. His smile grew as Skye sat back down and pulled his hand into her own again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Would you like to dance?” Dominik asked Skye during a lull a few hours later. 

“Yes please!” Skye took his hand and excused herself from the older gentlemen who had been asking her repetitive questions for the last half hour. 

“I think I may have some competition.” Dominik remarked as they joined other couples on the dance floor.

“I think he was staring at my chest more than listening to my answers.” Skye pointed out. “Thank you for rescuing me.” 

“Happy to be useful instead of just your arm candy for the night.” Dominik winked at her. 

“I’m sorry, I know this isn't really your thing.” Skye grimaced. 

“Don’t apologize. I’m having a great time being arm candy! Although I'm pretty sure more than one older lady has groped my butt. I should start telling them to donate to you when they do.” Dominik grinned. 

“Well thank you for pimping yourself out for me.” Skye laughed, groaning when she saw another donor making his way over to her as the song ended. 

“Tell you what, I’ll go grab a couple drinks and then come rescue you again and we can go get some air.” Dominik offered. Skye nodded eagerly before turning a smile to the man. 

Dominik ordered the drinks at the bar, turning to watch Skye charm more of the people willing to donate to the Research Center. 

“She’s probably going to help us meet our goal in half the time.” Maria declared as she joined Dominik at the bar. 

“She’s very passionate about her job.” Dominik replied, eyes returning to Skye after greeting Maria. 

“And you’re very passionate about her.” Maria’s observation caused him to turn towards Skye’s boss. 

“She’s my soulmate, I couldn’t have asked for a better one.” he answered. Maria stared at him for a minute before answering. 

“When I first interviewed Skye she told me why she was moving out here. I had my doubts, but she has excelled in everything, despite dealing with her personal life. I think her ex would have drained her passion out of her. Don’t let that happen with you." Maria nodded to where Skye was casting glances in their direction. "Now I think she would like you to rescue her.” Dominik nodded to Maria before grabbing their drinks and heading over to Skye. Handing her the drink and escorting her outside.

It was less crowded on the patio, lit by small lanterns, they were able to hear the music as it drifted out from the open doors. Dominik led them to an area that looked over the gardens and Skye sighed. 

“It’s so pretty here.” she smiled, setting her drink down and watching the lightning bugs dance through the flowers below. She shivered as a breeze hit them. 

“Here, take my jacket.” Dominik quickly pulled it off and draped it around her shoulders, leaving them standing close together. 

“Thank you” Skye whispered, even in her heels she had to look up at him. 

“You’re welcome.” Dominik whispered back, sparing a glance at her lips before meeting her eyes again. A slower song started and he wrapped his arm under the jacket and around her waist. She shivered again as his hand met the bare skin of her back. Pulling her closer to him, he started to sway gently with the music.

One hand reached out to steady herself against his chest while the other clung to the arm that was wrapped around her. Skye’s heartbeat sped up as they gravitated towards each other. 

“I hate to break up this adorable scene but Maria needs you inside for the announcement of this year’s fundraiser results.” Brett’s voice caused Skye to groan and rest her forehead against Dominik’s chest. 

“I have to go.” she whispered, sliding off his jacket and heading towards the patio doors, casting a small smile back at Dominik before she disappeared inside. 

Dominik exhaled loudly as he looked up at the stars before turning towards Brett with a raised eyebrow. 

“Trust me, breaking that up was the last thing I wanted to do.” Brett shrugged as they headed back in to listen to the results. 


	12. Chapter 12

Skye hummed and tapped her foot as she filled out paperwork. The pile was larger than usual thanks to the success of the Gala. Donations had been pouring in for the last two days and there was an excited buzz throughout the facility, despite working late. The buzz at home was different though. Something had changed between her and Dominik since the Gala, she heard his thoughts more easily and she could swear she started feeling his emotions without even being in the same room. She was contemplating leaving a little early to go to his show but a glance at her pile of paperwork squashed that idea. 

“What are you humming?” Brett was on the other side of her desk filling out paperwork as well. The sly grin on his face told her he already knew the answer and she bit her lip and rolled her eyes when she realized it was Dominik’s entrance music. He had set it as his ringtone on her phone the night before. “Are you still mad I interrupted your kiss? Because trust me, no one is madder at me than me about that.” Brett sighed dramatically. 

“We weren’t going to kiss.” Skye muttered, grabbing another file. 

“Oh? You were just staring at each other dreamily and wrapped in each other's arms for the heck of it?” He raised an eyebrow and grinned. 

Skye stammered but couldn’t come up with a response, causing Brett’s grin to grow. She was saved by Maria poking her head in to let her know she was next up for photos. It had been brought up at the Gala that they should have more information about the biologists and their credentials. Maria had jumped into action and they were all scheduled for new “bio photos” for their website and other publications.

Two hours later she was eating chicken and broccoli out of a chinese take out container, when a sudden pain shot through her right knee. Putting the food down she flexed her foot but the pain continued. 

“What’s wrong?” Brett questioned when he noticed her discomfort. 

“I don’t know. My knee just started hurting like someone tried to rip it off my leg.” she grimaced and rubbed the spot as the initial pain began to fade. 

_ “Hail! Hail! Hail!” _

Skye looked at her phone to see Dominik calling her. Answering she was surprised to hear Keith Lee’s voice on the other end of the line. 

“He wanted me to call and let you know, Dominik got injured in his match. Tore something in his knee. They are loading him up to take him to the hospital to get it checked out.” Keith’s deep voice sounded worried.

“His knee?” Skye whispered, looking down at where she was still rubbing the spot on her own leg.

“Ya, he’s had issues with it in the past.” Keith’s voice cut out and she heard sounds in the background that sounded like people yelling. “I gotta go. They are taking him to Advent Health East.”

“Thank you Keith, tell him i’m on my way.” Skye tossed the phone in her bag and started signing off her computer. “I have to go, Dominik got injured in his match, we can finish up tomorrow.”

“You felt him get injured didn’t you?” Brett asked as he helped her grab everything. 

“I think I did.” Skye looked at her friend for a minute before heading out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hi, i’m Skye Simmons, here to see Dominik Dijakovic.” Skye nervously told the nurse at the desk. 

“Are you family?” she responded, looking at a list on the desk. 

“Um, no...i’m his..soul...roommate. I’m his roommate.” Skye kicked herself for sounding so ridiculous. They were going to think she was some crazy fan trying to get in.

“Says here Skye Simmons, soulmate.” the nurse raised an eyebrow at her. 

“That too.” Skye blushed and bit her lip.

“She’s good to come back.” Skye turned to see one of the producers standing at the door and waving her back. Skye shot a smile at the nurse who still looked doubtful and followed him through the doors. 

“Keith told me to keep an eye out for you. Dominik’s right this way, thankfully it’s not as bad as it initially looked.” he filled her in as she followed him down the hall and pointed to a room. “I have to go finish some paperwork, go ahead and go in.” 

“Thank you” Skye smiled and then headed into the room. Dominik was sitting on the hospital bed in a gown talking on the phone. He smiled when he saw her and patted an empty spot on the bed beside his injured leg. 

“No, you guys don’t need to come to the hospital. Skye just got here. Yes I'm sure she will take me home.” Dominik rolled his eyes and Skye giggled. “I will talk to you tomorrow, I love you too. Bye.” Dominik hung up and placed his phone on the bed. 

“How are you feeling?” Skye asked as she looked at his knee that looked swollen despite the ice packs wrapped around it. 

“Not great but it could have been worse. Felt like a pretty bad muscle tear when it first happened. Turns out it was just a strain on my already bad ligaments. I’ll probably start wearing a knee brace now. They said I could go home once all the paperwork gets taken care of. Will have to take it easy for a few days but..” Dominik shrugged. “Thanks for coming, I know you’re busy at work.” 

“Keith sounded really worried on the phone and Brett was falling asleep at the desk anyway.” Skye absentmindedly rubbed her own knee where there was still a dull ache. “Was that your mom on the phone?” She changed the subject when she saw him looking at her knee. She wasn't ready to divulge further information about their growing connection just yet. 

“Ya, she’s my emergency contact so she was freaking out and trying to get my dad to turn off the game and get in the car. Keith said you were on your way so I told her not to worry about getting out.” He laughed in return. 

“Well Mr. Dijakovic, everything looks good on the scans and x-rays, nothing that needs to keep you here. If this is your ride we can get the discharge paperwork signed and get you home to rest.” The doctor was followed into the room by the producer who had shown Skye to the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next afternoon Skye was switching the laundry when the back door suddenly opened and a couple walked in. They stared at each other for a second before the woman burst into a large smile. 

“You must be Skye!” she exclaimed as she wrapped Skye in a hug she wasn’t prepared for. 

“Umm, yes. Hi?” Skye answered. 

“Oh, I’m Barb and this is my husband Rick.” she gestured to the man still standing by the door. 

“You’re Dominik’s parents!” Skye exclaimed, suddenly seeing the resemblance and realizing why they hadn’t knocked. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you. He’s on the couch in the living room.” Skye smoothed her hands down her shirt, hating that this was the way she was going to meet his parents. After they had made it home from the hospital the night before, Skye had helped Dominik to bed before passing out herself. She had texted Brett to send her whatever documents needed her signature and she would work from home today. He had teased her about dropping the paperwork and a naughty nurse costume off so she could properly nurse Dominik back to health and Skye was half afraid he would actually do it. Since she hadn’t planned on leaving the house and was just doing chores she had thrown her hair up in a bun and pulled on a pair of old leggings and a t-shirt. 

“You look great Skye.” Dominik yelled from the living room causing Skye to roll her eyes in his direction before reaching out to grab the casserole dish Barb was carrying, ignoring the knowing look on her face. 

Two hours and a delicious casserole later and Skye was pretty sure she was in love with Dominik’s parents regardless of her feelings for him. They were warm, kind and funny. Telling Skye stories about Dominik growing up until her stomach hurt from laughing so hard. She could also see their bond, anyone could. The way they talked to and about each other, the looks and gentle touched. Skye had never seen a more loving couple and they weren’t comparable to her parent’s cold relationship at all. Dominik’s unwavering belief in soulmates made perfect sense to her now. 

“So son, what’s the next step after your knee heals?” Rick asked. They had talked off and on about wrestling throughout the evening. Skye wasn’t sure if they knew about her previous relationship with Damian but she sensed they did and never brought him up. 

“Get a shot at the title, preferably the NXT Championship but I can step stone from the North American.” Dominik shrugged with a grin and wink at Skye.

“So you want to stay in NXT?” Barb looked at her son curiously. 

“Well I sure as hell don’t want to go to Raw. Vince would probably shave my head, put me in a mask and change my name to TBar.” Dominik’s reply caused his parents to laugh. 

“You can’t shave your head! I love your hair!” Skye objected before realizing what she said. She turned pink when they all three stared at her. She quickly went to clean up the plates but his mom stopped her by grabbing her hand gently and looking at the mark on her hand. 

“Have you two talked about the design in your mark?” She asked, looking between the two of them. 

“No not really, I’ve been helping Skye understand the different aspects of our bond. How to block my thoughts and block me from hearing hers. Or how to communicate through the bond.” Dominik smiled at Skye causing her to bite her lip. 

“My parents didn’t teach me anything about it. I’m kinda learning as we go.” Skye mumbled. “But I was thinking about it. I’m a Marine Biologist so that would be the sea and Dominik’s “Feast Your Eyes” would make the eye.” Skye suggested, looking apprehensive. 

“I think that makes perfect sense.” Rick smiled gently at her and a quick glance at Dominik told her he was proud of her as well. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“They really liked you.” Dominik told her later while they were getting ready for bed. 

Skye smiled at the comment. She had really liked them as well and was thrilled to hear they felt the same. She was beginning to think it had more to do with her growing feelings for their son though she tamped that down to examine later and headed to her room. 


	13. Chapter 13

“Brett’s here,” Dominik announced as he poked his head around Skye’s half opened door to find her pulling on a set of black heels. She stood up and did a little spin, showing him the form fitting black and red dress, grinning when she caught him staring at the ample cleavage the dress offered. “You look great.”

“Thank you” Skye replied, the grin still on her face. Brett had organized a night out at a club with some of their coworkers and insisted on her joining them. Partly because she needed to loosen up and take a break but also figure out her feelings for Dominik. The tension between them the past few weeks was only growing and she felt like if they didn’t address it soon she would explode. A honk from outside pulled Skye out of her thoughts, which thankfully due to some help from Dominik’s parents, she was learning to keep him from hearing. 

“Call me if you need me to come get you, or you are uncomfortable, or…” Dominik trailed off when Skye pressed a finger to his lips and placed a kiss on his cheek. 

“I’ll be fine, plus you need to rest. You want them to clear your knee right?” Skye raised an eyebrow at him and pointed to the couch as they made their way through the living room. 

_ “It’s just a couple drinks, I’ll be home in a few hours.”  _

Dominik smiled and nodded when he heard the thought she sent towards him. She had caught on quickly that he was thrilled when she embraced any part of their bond, the intimacy of sharing their thoughts was his favorite though and would often use it around the house. Skye waved as she grabbed her clutch and headed out the door to the waiting car. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re telling me you are living with that brick wall of a man, who happens to be your soulmate, and you sleep in a different room?” Ashley looked shocked when Brett showed her a video of one of Dominik’s matches. Skye groaned and put her head on the table, she’d lost count of how many drinks she’d had since they had gotten there. They had danced until a creepy guy had driven them back to their booth to take a break and grab more drinks. One of the other biologists had asked her about the “tall hunky guy” she’d brought to the Gala and Brett had urged her to tell them the story. Somehow an hour later, Dominik was still the topic and they were in a heated debate about what Skye should do. 

“It’s not that simple you guys!” Skye whined. 

“How is it not that simple? Do you like him?” Ashley asked.

“Well ya, he’s a nice guy, stable, funny, caring…” Skye shrugged.

“And you obviously think he’s attractive,” Kyle, one of the lab assistants, stated. Skye blushed, remembering the shower incident.

“He’s single.” “His parents like you!” “He owns his own house.” “He clearly cares for you.” The rest of the group added in their opinions. 

“So it’s settled, you’re going to stop being a little bitch. Take him, he's yours!” Brett pointed at her and yelled causing the group to cheer. 

Skye laughed before finishing off the drink in front of her. “I’m going to need some more liquid courage to take that step.”

“Another round!” Brett nodded to the waitress passing their booth. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ouch, fuck!” Skye giggled as she slapped her hand over her mouth and steadied herself on the washer after tripping over the rug by the door. 

“Skye?” a groggy voice came from the living room and Skye groaned when the kitchen light came on and Dominik appeared in a pair of shorts.

“Sorry, I was trying to be quiet” Skye giggled again, “but since you’re awake..” she whispered a slight slur on her words making Dominik raise an eyebrow at her. “You’re so yummy...and tall” Skye hummed as she flung her arms around him and nuzzled into his chest. He groaned when she pressed herself fully against him and started kissing a trail up his neck, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. 

“Skye, you’re really drunk right now. I don’t think you’re gonna remember any of this.” Dominik gently unwrapped her arms from around him to put some distance in between them. 

“No, I’m not drunk at all. You’re just blurry.” she pouted back up at him before kicking her heels off and walking towards the bedrooms, slowly pulling the edge of her dress up as she went. Smiling when she saw him following. When she reached the hallway she pulled it off completely and tossed it in his direction before disappearing in the direction of his room. 

With his hands on his hips, Dominik looked upward and sighed before following her. The image of her in nothing but the lacy bra and matching panties was going to haunt his dreams. “Sweetheart…” he trailed off when he saw her sprawled out on his bed snoring lightly. Chuckling to himself he covered her up with the blanket and placed a kiss on her forehead causing her to mumble something before rolling on to his pillow and start snoring again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skye groaned as she rolled over and was blinded by a sliver of light coming in through the curtain’s. Sitting up slowly she looked around, realizing she was in Dominik’s room and half naked, causing her to groan again and press a hand to her head. “So much for just a couple of drinks” she muttered as she spied a glass of orange juice and a note with a tylenol on top of the nightstand. Shuffling over she grabbed the note:

_ Skye, _

__ _ Hope you slept well. Headed to my knee check-up. Take the Tylenol. _

__ _ Dom  _ :) __

Skye smiled at the note before taking the tylenol and making her way to the bathroom. By the time she had finished her shower and gotten dressed the events of the night before had replayed in her head. She had literally thrown herself at him and he had been as sweet and gentlemanly as ever and judging from the blanket and pillows on the couch he had slept there. 

After starting a pot of coffee she grabbed the pillows and blankets from the couch and took them to the washer. She had just poured a cup when Dominik returned home and greeted her with a smile. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“A little hungover, thanks for the Tylenol. I’m...I’m sorry about last night, I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that or….” she was cut off by Dominik shaking his head and laughing. 

“It’s fine, you were drunk. And I didn’t see anything that I hadn’t already seen when you were wearing that bikini a few weeks ago.” he winked, causing her to blush. 

“How did the appointment go?” she asked after a moment of silence had passed. 

“Great! I’m cleared to compete again! And next weekend the show is at the Macon Coliseum in Georgia. That’s not too far from Vidalia right? We could invite your family and I could get all of you tickets.” He sounded nervous at the astounded look on Skye’s face. 

Skye stared at him as thoughts flew through her head too fast for him to pick up on. He had remembered where her parents lived? He wanted to meet them after everything she had told him?  _ He wanted to travel with her?  _

“Well It would be easier to travel together.” Dominik answered as he was able to pick out the last thought. 

“I would love that. I’ll call them to see if they are up for it.” Skye dashed to her room to find her phone leaving Dominik standing in the kitchen with a grin on his face. 


End file.
